OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR; Dining in a Drought in Australia

By JUSTIN NORTH

Published: July 29, 2007

Sydney, Australia

A FEW weeks ago, when I visited the Sydney fish market to pick up some Murray cod, I was told that there wasn't any, nor would there be any for a while. I was quite puzzled, since Murray cod is a highly prized Australian fish that is readily available from fish farms, though it is disappearing in the wild. It has a lovely delicate earthy flavor; to get the best out of it we cook it in a sous-vide bag with a red wine and beet jus at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes, which results in an amazingly soft gelatinous texture. We serve it with caramelized tortellini of duck confit. It's one of my favorite dishes.

So where was my Murray cod? The response was there just wasn't enough water and feed for the farmers to keep up the supply.

Australia is suffering what some are calling its worst drought in 1,000 years, and the impact on our farmers, livestock and produce is catastrophic. Scientists have linked the six-year drought to the changing climate, and the dry spell has been especially hard on the Murray cod's home, the Murray-Darling river basin in southeastern Australia, which provides 40 percent of the country's food. Our water is slowly running out, and the effects are being felt by Australian chefs.

With irrigation restrictions in major farming districts and extreme heat damaging crops, smaller produce yields are forcing price increases. Cos lettuces (romaine to Americans) have quadrupled in cost. Potato and tomato market prices can double within a week. And the hard, brief downpours that punctuate long arid periods damage more delicate ingredients like English spinach and wild rocket (arugula). Our stone fruit has become either too watery or too floury, and either way tasteless.

The cost of feed and the lack of water is also crippling Australia's meat and poultry industry and forcing prices up. The cost of lamb has fluctuated widely over the last six to nine months -- by as much as 15 percent to 20 percent -- particularly after a burst of rain.

The daily inconsistencies play havoc with restaurant margins, since we can't suddenly increase menu prices without driving away customers. Restaurants are now absorbing the rising costs, but sooner or later something will have to give.

At my restaurant, B?sse, we've had to become more flexible -- quickly adjusting dishes depending on what's available, and creating interesting dishes using unexpected cuts of meat. And while we've been adapting dishes, we've also been adapting ourselves. I was taught, and have encouraged other chefs, to seek out the best-looking produce from the most dedicated farmers and growers. But unfortunately, until recently, I made my choices with little regard for sustainability. In researching and writing my book I spent two years traveling around Australia talking to producers, and I could see first-hand the devastating effects of the water shortage.

So what can and should chefs not just in Australia but around the world do to help ease the food crisis, and to protect our land and produce? We must consider sustainability.

My restaurant's menu takes into consideration particular farming practices and how they affect the environment. We understand more about our produce: where it is from, how it is farmed, raised or caught. Rather than buying from aquaculture farms that dredge their scallops from the ocean floor, for instance, I buy from ones where divers collect the scallops by hand.

Thinking this way is vital if chefs want to avoid a future where all of the best and most interesting produce are protected species. This means changing our practices and demanding that our suppliers change as well.

Unless we learn and act, all we can do is hope and look to the heavens. Interviewed recently about the latest round of irrigation restrictions for our farmers, our prime minister, John Howard, had only this advice: ''Pray for rain.'' The Murray cod deserves better than that, and so do all Australian food lovers.